Steely Dan - Do It Again (REACTION!) 

This is an older Patreon vid guys fyi. Enjoy!

Steely Dan’s musical genre is: Steely Dan

"Love this, but never knew it was Steely Dan," said everyone who ever put on a Steely Dan record.

"This is not a Steely Dan marathon." Whatever you guys gotta tell yourself in order to play more Steely Dan. It's OK. Just play more Steely Dan!

Imagine this was the opening song on their first album. Guys in their early 20s. I myself at that age was in the process of figuring out whether to put pants on before or after socks.

The day I snapped and walked out of my job of 12 years I went and bought an inflatable pool, a case of beer and a bag of ice, and I stayed drunk in the back yard the rest of the summer listening to this album. 😎💜💚💛✌️

The solo instrument is a Danelectro Choral Sitar. It’s a guitar with a bridge that gives it the “buzz” of a sitar. It’s tuned and plays like a guitar but because the bridge is designed a certain way, it evokes the sound of a sitar. It was invented in the late 60s but by this point it was mostly used to evoke East Indian vibes. People played it to sound East Indian for the most part (the Yardbirds “Heart Full of Soul” for example) but certain artists used its tonality to go beyond its immediate East Indian evocation. Stevie Wonder used it on “I Was Made to Love Her” but most notably on “Signed Sealed Delivered” in 1970. The band Redbone also used it to great effect on their hit song “Come and Get Your Love” in 1974. Those artists used it as a textural “part” to the songs without trying to evoke “East Indian” modes; Steely Dan however, used it as a voice for a soloing instrument in a context that eschewed any reference to East Indian music and featured it in a way that no one had done before. It was a stroke of sonic genius.

The solo is an electric sitar, which is a similar but distinct instrument to the guitar.

Steely Dan Marathon? I'm ready, guys.

Dang, I'm a guitar player with 25 years of tenure, and I've heard much, but this guitar lead is actually one of the best I ever heard. This guy's right hand work is incredible

70’s music....NOTHING BEATS IT.

The principle members of this band were 21 and 23 when they wrote this album. Every aspect of the music, instrumentation, vocal delivery, and lyrics, carries a maturity that comes across as if it was conjured up by wise old fusion veterans. And yet, they were fresh out of college, this was their first release - and they were just getting started. Amazing.

I'm 62 years old and I grew up going to concerts in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. I saw all of the great rock stars and groups live. Musically Steely Dan is hands down the finest band I've ever seen live! And they're still touring and still great!

Let me just say, I joined Patreon and became a member today on the suspicion that you might do a Steely Dan marathon.

Everyone in the world loves Steely Dan -- even if they don't realize it.

I just love how you young guys who are into hip hop, can appreciate this great music which being sadly forgotten. I wish more young people would take the wonderful journey which you are on.

Steely Dan marathon for sure.

Steely Dan were truly their own genre. Such a seamless blend of rock, jazz, r&b, and pop. Not sure if any band ever mixed commercial/pop sensibilities with such musical and lyrical sophistication, even though many hated them because they kinda invented the "soft rock" genre. They also very much did some material that leaned more towards jazz and rock. For jazzy Dan, try Rikki Don't Lose That Number, and for rocking Dan, try Don't Take Me Alive.

Hey 19. To cement the Steely Dan chill vibe, this is a must! "The Cuervo gold, the fine Columbian, makes tonight a wonderful thing"

Back in '74 when my friends and I were all 14/15 years old, their favorite bands were Backman Turner Overdrive, Kiss, etc., mine was Steely Dan... and even when my 14-year-old mind could not comprehend the true meanings of their lyrics, the sound, the beat, the smoothness, had me hooked. Truly, they are still my favorite band in 2020, forty-six years later...

This is one of my all time favorite songs. It creates such a magical atmosphere.

You become a Steely Dan fan when you get better at listening to music.

"reeling in the years" and "rikki don't lose that number"... two of the greatest pop songs ever written and recorded.

Fagan and Becker of SD were on record as being HUGE Motown fans, so your assessment of Steely Dan being "in the R&B category" has merit when you consider their influences.

The tone and choice of notes in that guitar solo is just flat out ...BADASS... Great song..

"Hey guys, sorry but we have both heard this song and we're probably not going to get caught off guard and blow away." *Proceeds to be caught off guard and blow away*

Denny Dias was a fly guitarist and historically underrated. The Dias solo in this song is filthy!

You really need to get a Steely Dan marathon going! Josie, Deacon Blues, and the title track off the Aja album should be next up. And when you're done with Steely Dan, you need to react to Pink Floyd's One of These Days!

You gotta do "FM no static at all" Every one is gonna love it including you two.

Hey, my generation. I was 23 and dancing to this song. I’m 71 and still love it.

I’m old enough to say, we had it good back in the day....

Aja & Kid Charlemagne are a must! and also Josie, Deacon Blues, Don't take me alive, Babylon Sisters....a marathon would be great!

Steely Dan is their own category. This particular song is about addiction, and how we humans are creatures of habit. I just became a patreon, and when you do an SD marathon I'm there. SD's production and musicianship is nonpareil. These guys have about 30 or 40 great songs. There really isn't a such thing as a bad SD song. They are your favorite musicians favorite band. You're just scratching the surface of what is IMHO America's greatest band.

These two guys were musical surgeons in a studio. No lie! Extremely demanding, and knew just what they wanted out of the hired guns they would bring in.

You know Steely Dan is way cool when a couple of Black Dudes are catching the Steely Dan Vibe and digging on a couple of geeky musical white guys!! Lol!! Love the Dan! Love the Review guys!!👍🏻😜😁

When people who love music really engage with Steely Dan's music, there can be no denying they're among the best there ever was or will be, not a doubt in my mind

Kid Charlemagne is a must!

Solo was played on electric sitar by Denny Dias. Gotta do “Black Friday” and “Bodhisattva.” Must listens for Steely Dan. Phenomenal guitar solos in both songs.

I think you guys should just bail on the idea of a Steely Dan marathon and add their whole catalog to your playlist. ;)

Steely dan can take a washboard, juice harp and spoons sound good together.

In my generation, when this music came out, we did not put it into categories. Everybody just listened to everything!

Dirty Work is another great one from them.

So stoked y'all are into Steely Dan. Donald Fagen really was a genius. Also, those records had a lot of the best of the best studio musicians of the time. Watch one of Rick Beato's vids about them. Great stuff all around.

“Reelin in the years” and “My old school” are two of their hits, that are staples to play.

And please remember, this is the first track on their first album. Great start for a great band.

Like Genesis, Steely Dan's music is so smooth and upbeat it makes you loose the meaning of the words, because the lyrics are SO DARK. Both group's layering and attention to detail is miraculous. SO GOOD. Timeless!

3:15 Ryan, I don’t think Steely Dan would’ve minded you putting them in the R&B category. I’m pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that they hated being called rock. But regardless, most Steely Dan fans would probably agree with you my man.

Man, I love so much 70s music. It was complex but fun. They didn’t play to show off. They played because they loved it.

Absolutely one of the most underrated solos of all time. This song frigging OWNS.

Time for a Steeley Dan marathon boys....they have sooooo many epic tunes

I heard this on the radio as a kid. As much as I frickin love to hear it now, I appreciate the memories it brings from back then. More Steely Dan!

SD is one of the most important American bands/concepts (as they used many musicians) in modern music, IMHO. Way above cool. A scotch on the rocks, some good blunt & watching the sunset. Doing it again.

If you end up doing a marathon, you'll find out quickly that Steely Dan is not just in any one category.

Love this reaction vid guys ! Steely Dan is a own music genre, simply ❤️‍🔥

I've watched a few of these reaction videos of do it again, and the keyboard intro elicits the same wave of relaxation in all of the reactors. Possibly the best intro in the history of music

Steely Dan are the towering kings of "Dad Rock"

Again, it's a up-tempo tune about drug addiction and the hopelessness/helplessness of it all. "Water" is his fix.

Session musicians were ecstatic to play with Steely Dan because of their complicated compositions. A very talented duo in Fagan and Becker.

Steely Dan are brilliant musicians, absolute perfectionists. They utilised many great musos

Ok so hang on a minute! I am officially a "Boomer" but y'all are listening to and grooving the hell out of my 70's music! I am a die hard old school R&B lover...Al Green, Bill Withers, Barry White, Rufus, Earth Wind and Fire, Sly and the Family Stone. Some of us have been loving this stuff forever, so don't be talking bad about a Boomer, we ain't all alike!!

A band that will completely mess with you and make you say “I know this song but didn’t know it was them” is Alan Parsons project. Alan Parson was the main force behind Pink Floyd’s dark side of the moon. He did most of the engineering on it I think.

Upvote for Steely Dan marathon. Home at Last next!! And the Dan is definitely some R and B.

In a catalog of unquestioned ear candy-this is the Dan's masterpiece! I never fail to reach for the volume knob when Do It Again appears!

They just might be the one band that DOES NOT HAVE A BAD SONG.

"RELAXATION?" Are you kidding...makes ME want to DANCE, and I'm 69 years young!!!

"Do It Again" has always been a jam...

Glamour Profession, Green Earrings, Kid Charlemagne, Dont Take Me Alive, King of the World, Any Major Dude Will Tell You, Bad Sneakers, Only A Fool Would Say That, Babylon Sisters, Black Friday, Aja, Josie, and so on...

What’s amazing about this song is it takes a minute and five seconds before the vocal even comes in, which would never EVER happen in today’s modern radio!

if it hasn't been mentioned yet, the solo string instrument played is an electric sitar played by Denny Dias.

I really liked the observation that the only way to end the song was fading it out.. Never given that, as a concept a thought. Once spoken though, I find that to apply to a number of songs that I like, just rocking out so hard that there really is no other way to end it, but to fade it out, thumbs up! Great video as always!

Gotta do "FM", "Time Out of Mind", "Aja", "Bodhisattva", "Kid Charlemagne", "Don't Take Me Alive", "Babylon Sisters", "Hey Nineteen", "Two Against Nature", "Show Biz Kids" to name just a few..... The band is still fire.....

We demand Steely Dan marathon! JK. But seriously, consider it. This sets me in the mood to sit outside with a drink & watch the clouds. Love them!

Guys, you need to look up the origin of the name of the band. Clue: William Burroughs. Trust me, you want to know, 😉

Funny thing - I've come to appreciate Steely Dan more today than I did back in the day.

Rock, jazz, R&B, they had a little bit of everything.

Growing up, I heard this song a million times. I didn't appreciate the musicianship until Guitar Hero World Tour. GD that song!

Gotta do Deacon Blues and Hey 19 for sure

"Kid Charlamagne", "Reelin in the years", "FM", "My Old School", "Josie", "Don"t take Me Alive"........ You will see THEY DO NOT MAKE A BAD SONG.

My Old School, Dirty Work, When Josie Comes Home, FM; it's a deeep rabbit hole, guys!

"Its kind of like gambling man" I love how he perfectly predicted the next verse of the song.

This was a hit when I was coming of age, musically. Glad to see you brothers enjoying it, too! Thanks for posting.

Great reaction, lads. Your taste in hard rock and metal is well established now so please do more 70s and 80s soul, RnB, funk and later hip hop. The music I grew up with.

I haven’t heard a whole lot of Steely Dan. I would be down for a marathon though. This is so smooth.

"This is like jazz and reggae to me." I always thought Santana and Steely Dan came in with similar sounds and influences. There's a very strong Caribbean/Brazilian influence in their music. (Brazilian jazz was big in the 60's).

Few groups ever put in the effort of audio craftsmanship that Steely Dan did. Every note is exactly the way they wanted it. Stories of weeks of retakes to get it right are epic.

That’s Denny Dias playing and electric sitar I believe on that solo. I used to think this was Carlos Santana until some years back and it blew me away to find it was a Dan song. Too Kool.

Listen to Peg with Michael McDonald just singing Peg during the chorus. Kick Ass jam!

I was just jamming this tune today. I would love to see y’all do Aja, the song. One of the best ever in song drum solos. Good stuff as always gents.

I would agree with you that this genre can be, arguably, placed in the R&B category.......that's what makes SD music so beautiful. Got that SWEEEEEEET soulful flavor to it. I am 63 years old and was lucky enough to experience this music real time, as it was originally released. It still invokes the same feelings in me now as back in the day. So grateful to have seen this band in Virginia Beach right b4 Walter Becker's passing. This group makes my top 5 all-time favorite bands. Unequaled quality in all their music. I really enjoyed your reaction. Also, this "Reaction" thing is beautiful bc it brings people together. In this day and age, given the political discourse, we could all use something to unite us. So kudos to you two "Lost In Vegas" guys for putting something out there to help us all feel closer. Take a bow.

You guys gotta check out Home at Last, bit of a different feel from them but so groovy, famous for the Purdie shuffle on the drums. Not one of their biggest tunes but pure class from the Aja album

Steely Dan! Super dope! On a completely different note (other than request Kid Charlemagne sampled by Kanye), I'd like to bring to your attention Bobby Caldwell. Lots of his music runs along the same lines as Steely Dan. He's also been sampled numerous times by Hip Hop producers. Many songs would also fall in the RnB category due to their smooth vibes, horns etc. Any of their singles would be dope to check out if yall are interested. What you won't do for Love, Alfie, My Flame, just to name off a few. Blessings ...

'Reeling In The Years' boys!! Containing Jimmy Page's favourite ever guitar solo.....'Do It Again' is my favourite Steely Dan tune from Becker and Fagan who , as well as themselves, employed some mind-blowing musicians....they really don't write 'em like this anymore!

This sounds more like Santana Latino R&B, than it does straight American R&B.

I was never a fan of this song when I was young, but over the years I have learned to love this song. I originally did not appreciate how complex this song is musically and now I feel the same as these guys, noticing all of instruments that just keep building into the song. Great review guys.

Your guys analysis nailed this: a song about addictive behavior, with a stone cold groove but amazingly awesome solos. Steely Dan's solos all stay within the groove of the song, rather than flying out of the groove like so many rock & roll solos.

Love this song! And I love Steely Dan. I smell a marathon coming. 😁

Glad you guys appreciated the great sitar solo in this done by Denny Dias. Another song on this album, Reelin' in the Years, also has a phenomenal guitar solo by Elliott Randall that was Jimmy Page's all-time favorite. Really, there's awesome guitar work all over that one.

I'd love you guys to react to Bodhisattva by this band. It's a throwback to original rock and roll but with similarly insane musicianship to this

So glad you guys did Steely Dan! I love the metal, I love the Steely Dan, love the grunge....all great!

I love seeing people experience my favorite band in the world. It's great! Big props for exploring Steely Dan.